Out Of The Dark Came Forth Sweetness | Valentine’s Cards

Since this journal post, we have stopped selling personalised cards. We continue to print packaging for our range of Industrial lighting products using letterpress and personalise notebooks using mechanical typesetting and letterpress.

Original post:

The design and colourway for Prelogram’s Valentine’s card has been curated by super-cool furniture restorers and up-cyclers Jade & Jay Blades. Jade & Jay – founders of the charitable social enterprise Out of the Dark – chose the ‘Lovehearts’ design and a light, pastel green for the cards.

In addition to producing acclaimed furniture, Out Of The Dark trains, educates and employs young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the redesign, restoration and revamping of pieces discarded by others. The project runs without state support and has been highly successful at getting young people into employment and training. Factorylux has supplied lighting for Out Of The Dark Projects and has further exciting collaborations planned for 2015. Jay & Jade kindly agreed to be interviewed for our blog.

As founders of Out of the Dark (OOTD), can you tell us more about what you both do? Jay is in control of furniture design & production, workshop and mentoring of young people. Jade is in control of the finances, administration, funding and all the paperwork side of things.

You work with young people every day. What were you both like as teenagers? We were both very cheeky as teenagers, Jay was naughty and Jade was rebellious. We both had a mischievous streak in us!

What does OOTD represent to you? It represents choice, individuality, family, understanding, support and furniture!

You’re not only professional partners but you’re a couple too, how did you meet? We met at college and started arguing about how to make the world a better place. We didn’t hit it off straight away – difference of opinion is what drew us together initially and a natural desire to support each other. We also both had a huge passion for basketball.

You have chosen an image of a Swizzels Lovehearts sweet for Prelogram’s Valentine’s cards and Moleskines this year. Why? We chose Lovehearts because in the early days we exchanged these sweets – and the message written on them – as a romantic gesture.

Forgive the sentimental question but it is Valentine’s day soon… have you any advice on finding romance and making it blossom? Our advice is that you shouldn’t look for love, love will find you and you will feel it when it has. To make romance blossom, make sure you are completely honest with each other and spend 70% of your time on your relationship, even if its a text message or phone call throughout the day. Communication and attention are what a relationship needs.

Thanks Jade and thanks Jay. We look forward to the exciting collaborations we have planned for 2015.